Quick! Anyone any advice on how to keep a feral cat still after op?

[Hurr1cane]

She's just been neutered. I tried leaving her to find a spot to chill but she was bombing round the house, so I crated her but not she's doing backflips trying to escape!!! Vets said to keep her calm and not have her running about but nothing's working. I'm worried she's going to damage herself!

[RoosterCogburn]

Can you pop a blanket over the crate and put her in a quiet room?

I don't know if it will work but it might

[Hurr1cane]

Blankets over and she's in the spare room alone but I can hear her fighting to get out of the crate still

[RoosterCogburn]

Oh no, poor thing.

We have ferals and semi-ferals and I dread them having treatment of any kind because they find it so traumatic

[Hurr1cane]

I know but I had to neuter her. She's fab with people now she's just wild. If I go sit with her she's ok, just tries to shove her head through the bars to get closer to me. It's not going to mentally scar her is it?

[thecatneuterer]

Of course you had to neuter her. And no, she's be absolutely fine.

She's not feral then if she likes people. I find that ferals generally calm down after a few minutes in a cage if it's got a sheet over. Although they will generally have another couple of goes at escaping sometime during the night for the first couple of nights.

She will be fine in the pen. Just leave her covered and she will give in. And she definitely won't be mentally scarred.

[RoosterCogburn]

Oh bless, I'm sure she'll be fine.

We had our little feral tabby spayed last week and she was bouncing around afterwards. She was desperate to get out and DH accidentally banged her as he closed the door - he was so upset but she was fine.

She's healed perfectly and isn't holding a grudge as she let me stroke her at the weekend.

[Hurr1cane]

She was feral. In that she was born a feral and to a feral mum and was horrific with people (I have the scars to prove it) but has calmed down now, but can still being a staff to its knees for fun

[Hurr1cane]

Bring**
Thank you, I feel so guilty, I don't want to undo all the work I have done with her and stop her trusting me. She's totally wild but she's Come round to the idea of a human to feed her and I don't want to make her hate me again

[Hurr1cane]

She's not calmed down at all

[RoosterCogburn]

Oh Hurr1cane, I feel for you.

Thinking longterm you are doing such ha good thing for her even though it feels awful now.

[Hurr1cane]

She's still not calmed down now, she's been in there 12 hours. She goes back to the vets on Thursday. I've never seen a cat act like her. I had to crate the ragdoll recently when he shredded his pad, he wasn't happy but he just got on with it and shouted at me every time he saw me. Poor little girl, I feel so guilty. Like I've snatched her from the wild then maimed her and caged her.

I know it's for her own good, and for the good of cats everywhere during the over population crises, which is why I did it, but I feel terrible.

I really didn't want to have to crate her but she won't stop jumping when out of her crate. Do you think she really needs the cone of shame? That might be what's making her worse

[thecatneuterer]

She's wearing a cone? That probably explains it then. I've never known cats to not calm down within around an hour, but cones are a whole different matter.

I would certainly try removing it. But regardless, don't feel at all guilty. You are 100 per cent doing the right thing. And she will forgive you.

[Hurr1cane]

I took the cone off, it didn't make much difference in the crate so I just let her out of it, after a mad 5 minutes around the house she seems to have settled down a little bit now she's back at the vets tomorrow for a check up so I'll tell you all if she's managed to hurt herself then.

Thanks for everyone's advice

[RoosterCogburn]

Oh, the cone. I have dreadful memories of one of my boys wearing a cone (he'd damaged his eye) and it was a distressing experience for us all.

I hope she has settled now, and that she hasn't damaged herself

[Hurr1cane]

She's still bouncing off the walls. She's worse than usual! I've taken the cone off and let her own of the crate because that was just making her worse but she's still not calmed down. I think it's because she can't get outside. She keeps hammering on the (locked) cat flap!

[Hurr1cane]

Out of**

[Moonax]

Eeesh. Horrible for you. You must feel awful even though you've done exactly, but exactly the right thing by her. Well done on getting her to tolerate humans enough to touch her.

Suspect it is just because she can't get outside, which is what she'd normally do if she was needing to hide. Hope it all calms down for you and the cat soon.

[RoosterCogburn]

How is she now Hurr1cane?

[mrssmith79]

If she doesn't settle soon I'd be asking the vet to prescribe a short course of diazepam - they did for our post-op dog who has only 2 settings, 90mph or asleep

[Hurr1cane]

The vet said her wound is healing fine, I said she was Charging around the house but she seemed unconcerned.

I was woke up at 3am by her and ragdoll chasing each other around my bedroom!

No idea what to do, but I'll just keep an eye on the wound and take her back if it looks to be getting infected or opening at all.

Do they come in tablet form? I swear I lost half the skin on my hands when I was trying to shove a working tablet down her throat 😂😂😂

[Hurr1cane]

Worming even

[RoosterCogburn]

We use a powder for worming our ferals - two different types that have to be given a couple of weeks apart.
I'm not sure what they are called - I usually just explain to the vets who they are for - last time the vet said 'ahhh, bastard cat' as he obviously remembered the last visit.
We soak the powder in sardines for a couple of hours and then feed it to the cats when they are really hungry.

[RoosterCogburn]

Sorry, just realised you were asking about diazepam and I was wittering on about worming

[mrssmith79]

I've only ever seen it in tablet form, can be crushed though.

[Hurr1cane]

Haha the worming advice is good though! I'll ask the vets when she's next due. She seems ok. Walking around purring like she does, and she attacked my legs when I was walking downstairs so she can't be in pain or anything.